The Queen of Arendelle
by kimbalias
Summary: Queen Elsa and Princess Anna are determined to do what is best for their kingdom and their family. But despite their best efforts, fate has a funny way of intervening. The parents they thought dead have returned after years of isolation to find their young daughters running the kingdom.
1. No Longer Frozen

**Author's Note: My hope is to make this a shortish story (less than 15,000 words) as a little glimpse of a possible epilogue to conclude the movie Frozen. I became a huge fan of Frozen since I heard the song "Let it Go," and then watched the movie. It is a great story for anyone of any age and I can't recommend it enough for any Disney fan. I, of course, own nothing. **

**Please read, review, and enjoy! **

I sprinted furiously and dug my feet hard enough to make grooves in the snow. I quickly took cover behind the stone wall in an attempt to catch my breath. Icy tears stung my eyes and I quickly wiped them away with the wool of my mittens.

I ducked down and crouched in the snow. My eyes automatically began to squint against the harsh cold and I could just make out the outline of the iced over lake. I gave the area a sweeping glance, took a deep breath, and clenched my hands into fists as I thrust my body forward.

I keep my eyes straight ahead as I dashed across the piles of ice and snow. I slipped twice; ripping my skirt the first time and then cutting my hand the second. I barely wasted a glance at either injury, instead just cradling my hand to my chest protectively as I leapt.

I dug my heels in still, gaining speed even as the freezing air nipped my cheeks. I took a gasp of icy air and didn't even notice as my feet passed from the hills of ice and snow to the pristine glass-like surface of frozen water. My boots began to slip underneath me until I fell, hard, on the iced ground.

"Ow," I muttered, even as my body continued to slide. My body skated across the ice as I tried to catch my hands on anything. Suddenly, I heard the heart-dropping '_crack_' I had been warned about since childhood. I cried out desperately and attempted to dig my heels into the ice, even as I felt the ice cold water rush against my boots and socks.

The lower half of my body began to sink into a crack in the ice just as I felt a push against my bottom. Before I had time to even turn my head, I was screaming as I flew through the air.

I spluttered as I lifted my head out of the giant snow bank I had somehow landed in. I heard giggling behind me. I rolled my eyes as I shook the snow out of my hair.

"Elsa!" I shouted. There was more giggling behind me. "Thanks a lot," I grumbled as I finally stood and spotted my sister.

"Hey," she said indignantly, her hands on her hips. "You should be thanking me. I just saved you from a watery grave." She pointed to the lake, where the crack was replaced with a giant mound of powdery snow.

"Your grand highness," I turned and solemnly curtsied. "My most sincere and desperate apologies to you, the Great Ice Queen of Arandelle. Thank you so -" Suddenly, Elsa leaned over and pushed, and I toppled over into another pile of snow.

I looked up at her, shocked, to see her eyes filled with wondrous disbelief at her own daring. I snorted with laughter and Elsa bent down to help me up, chortling herself.

I sighed lightly and brushed off my skirts again. "Like I wasn't already wet!" I mock protested, pointing to my soaked boots.

"This was your idea," Elsa said knowingly. She pointed to the igloo on the other side of the water. "You had almost made it," she smiled. "Let's call it a draw this time."

"Okay," I agreed easily. "Even though I almost drowned."

She shook her head at me and turned her head toward the water. "Spring is coming early this year. The water is already thawing," she sighed and turned back to look at me. "But you would not have drowned. I would never let anything happen to you, Anna," she said sincerely, reaching for my hand.

"I know," I told her as I grabbed her hand. "Let's go home."

* * *

><p>Elsa made sure we took our time heading back to the castle, despite my frozen toes. She graciously smiled and waved at every person she encountered, so desperate to please every citizen of Arandelle. The majority of people gave her warm smiles back. Elsa was a gracious and fair queen; between her poverty driven policies and saving a year's worth of crops from an unexpected blizzard the spring before, her transgression with freezing the kingdom was all but forgotten.<p>

"Elsa," I grumbled, after a few feeble waves on my part. "I know that you don't feel the cold," I nodded pointedly at her simple blue gown brushing the piles of snow at our feet, "but I'm numb. Can we _please_ hurry?"

"Anna," she said without breaking her queenly smile, "you are a princess of Arandelle. Please –"

"Act like it. Yeah, I know." I blew at my bangs in frustration.

"Princess! Princess Anna!" someone called out.

I smiled and waved my hand like I wasn't uncomfortable at all. Both Elsa and I watched in surprise as a drop of blood fell on the white snow.

"Oh! What's this?" Elsa took my other hand in hers. The cut I had received from the ice had bled through my glove. She touched it lightly with concern. "Why didn't you say something?" she asked me in surprise.

"I didn't feel it," I told her honestly. "I suppose I forgot."

She frowned at my hand and hurried me along the path. "Next time we are building a snowman like I wanted."

"I think one Olaf is enough," I joked.

* * *

><p>"Elsa, could you please calm down?"<p>

She was pacing around the room while my maid wrapped my hand with sterile cloth. I rolled my eyes and stretched my feet closer to the fire. I smile fondly up at the picture of Mother and Father and sigh when snow brushes my sleeve.

"I'm fine Elsa! And besides – let's leave the snow outside this time," I tried to say gently.

"What?" She snapped her head up like she hadn't heard me at all. I nodded above her head where flakes of snow were beginning to flurry.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Her face dropped even more. She turned on her heel immediately. "I'll leave."

"Elsa! Come here. It's fine. You're not going to freeze me." I held out my hand to her. The maid bobbed her head and left the room.

Elsa was hesitating, but after a moment she came over and put her hand in mine. She looked warily at the snow above us. It was more than two years later, but was still afraid of turning me into ice. The slightest negative emotion sent her sprinting to her room.

"What's wrong, Elsa? It's not just my hand. I've had worse than this."

Elsa sighed and sat behind me. I smiled as she began to unravel my two strawberry blonde braids.

"Do you think," she sighed and glanced up at the ornate portrait behind us. "Do you think Mother and Father would be proud of me?"

"What?" I whipped my head around despite her hands on my hair. "Of course they would, Elsa! You're a great queen. Everyone in Arandelle adores you," I added.

"Thank you," she replied formally. "I'm glad you think so. It's just –"Her hands paused in my hair. "They worked so hard to try and help me conceal my powers. And now . . ." Elsa sighed.

"You control your powers now, Elsa."

"Well, mostly." She glanced up at the few flakes falling from the sky. She sighed. "It's silly. I just hope I would have made them proud."

I turned and grabbed her hands. "They would be so proud of you. You help the kingdom every way that you can."

"And what about you?" Her blue eyes looked at me with concern.

"What about me?" I asked, taken aback.

"I was supposed to look after you. Be a good big sister and protect you."

I groaned and flipped back on the couch, throwing my arm over my eyes. "I will survive from this cut Elsa, trust me."

She smiled slightly and stood up, dusting off her skirts. "I know, Anna. I was referring to freezing and almost killing you," she said with a slight wince, despite her nonchalant tone.

"Well, I'm not frozen now," I said smartly, and got up myself.

She sighed and reached up to touch the portrait of our late parents. She closed her eyes and turned away. "I'm just not sure this is who they wanted me to be."

I walked over and hugged my sister tightly. "Well, this is who you are. And I think you're great in every way."

She was quiet though, as she hugged me back gently. I pulled back and told her frankly, "You're too serious, Elsa. But don't worry – Kristoff will be back soon. And then nobody can be serious for long." I grinned.

She laughed and pulled away. "You and that mountain man make me sick. When are you two going to get married and get out of my hair?"

"Soon." I grinned at her impishly, but her smile turned slightly sad. I jumped up and kissed her on the cheek. "Love you, Elsa," I shouted back as I leave the room.

She chuckled behind me. Elsa shook her head with a smile. "I love you too, Anna," she called back.


	2. The Duties of a Princess

**I had honestly meant to update in less than a week, so a "my bad" on my part. I've had had the rough outline of the story in my head for a while now, so I thought it would take me one or two sittings to bang out another chapter. I guessed wrong. I struggled with the restrictive first-person point of view, to the point of even switching the first chapter to third to see if it suited the plot better. I decided against it and kept Anna's first point-of-view in the continuation. I'm going to trust my instincts by sticking with first and I will attempt to STOP second guessing myself as well. Hopefully, this will help the words get out a little faster. **

**Anyway - thank you to all the reviews/follows/favorites. They are - as always - graciously appreciated! Please let me know what you think. :)**

"The next subject on the agenda is the taxation of tradable exports. Now, if you'll see on page 74, we can address the new changes due to the monetary industrial increase in the southern provinces and the. . ." I groaned loudly and nearly slammed my head down on the table in front of me. Elsa shot me the third dirty look in an hour.

The Official Chairman talked right over my protest and continued in his dull monotone. Despite his nasally voice and humorless expression, I had come to admire how good he was at his job. There could have been a war going on outside, battle cries and scream alike, and he would have still droned on about something as boring as taxation of tradable exports.

I peeked across the table at Elsa as she focused her attention back on the chairman. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she scribbled notes briskly. I uneasily looked down at my own blank paper.

I placed my head against my arm and pretended to take notes diligently like Elsa. In actuality, I sketched a picture of Elsa's snow castle from memory. Eventually, my head nodded as I began to doze off.

At the sound of my sister's voice nearly an hour later, my head snapped up. I looked down at the elaborate castle and puddle of drool on top of my paper in confusion.

"Ahem," Elsa coughed. "_As I was saying_," she continued as the titters across the room turned my face bright red. "I want to thank you all very much for your time and dedication this morning. We'll dismiss and meet again later this week."

Elsa rose and tilted her head slightly with her hands clasped in front of her. Everyone stood and bowed politely to her highness Queen Elsa while I hastily jumped up and managed a curtsey. Elsa graciously smiled as everyone fled out of the room. Without even needing a look from Elsa, I slumped back in my seat.

"Anna." She sighed and shook her head as she walked over.

"I'm sorry, Elsa."

"I know you are, Anna. I think that –"Elsa started. I waited a moment for her to continue, and looked up curiously at her abrupt stop to see her stationary by my shoulder. She stared down at the sketch, and though I was improving every day at recognizing my sister's facial expressions, I couldn't identify the mix of emotions in Elsa's eyes.

With a gulp, I hurriedly pushed some papers on top of the extravagant castle and put my arm over the stack of paper. Elsa shook her head at me and with a look of slight confusion, pulled back her skirts and sat down.

"Anna," Elsa began seriously as I avoided her gaze. "Being a princess isn't all fancy parties and pretty dresses."

"I know that," I objected immediately.

"Well, then you know that council meetings are important. We have a kingdom we are beholden to. There is work to be done."

"All I seem to do is listen to old men talk about money," I mumbled under my breath.

"Anna –"

"Listen, Elsa." I jumped up and walked around the room to place both my palms on the glass window in front of us. "We don't have to stay in the castle anymore." I stopped and smiled down at the bustling city beneath us. "You've shown everyone how great your powers are, so there's nothing to hide. We should be spending every available moment down in Arendelle. We can _do_ things instead of just talking about doing them."

Elsa sighed heavily but joined me at the window. "It's not that simple and you know it."

"It could be," I tried. I turned and grinned at her sheepishly.

Reluctantly, Elsa smiled back. "I wish I could see the world through your eyes, Anna. But I can't." Her smile faded. "Arendelle depends on me to make decisions. I need to know why I'm making them."

I said nothing as she looked out the window. Elsa looked unhappily at my infrequent frown.

"There was something else I wanted to talk to you about," she began suddenly.

"Yes?" I asked gloomily.

"There is a lot of work that still needs to be overseen in Arendelle. Could you do me a favor and take a look today?"

"Really?" I turned and looked at her suspiciously.

"Really."

I grinned and moved to sprint out of the room. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me and I turned back to face Elsa. "Well, why don't you come with me?" I asked, excitedly.

"I can't, Anna. I'm sorry, but I have too much work to do."

"Please, Elsa?"

Her blue eyes were huge as she looked at me in wavering resolve. Her eyes seemed far away as she tossed up her hands to pull them through her hair, only to find it back in a braided knot.

"Sorry, Anna. Another day. I promise. Okay?" She asked uncertainly.

"Okay," I agreed quietly, and curtsied low.

"Anna. Wait." I whipped back around at her distressed tone. My sister stared back at me, her eyebrows pulled together in agitation. "It's – it's not like before. I'm not closing the door on you this time. I don't want you to think that –"

I walked forward immediately and grabbed her hands. "I know it isn't, Elsa! You are Queen of Arendelle and like you said, there is work to do. We were together yesterday – I just wish we could play every day," I smiled earnestly at her. "I understand, Elsa. I love you," I added with a kiss to her cheek. She smiled warmly at me and I turned to walk back out of the room. "I'm going to do you proud today! Be the best princess there ever was."

"Mhhmm. I know you will Anna. Oh! Remember to take some guards with you," Elsa called to my retreating back.

I groaned in response.

* * *

><p>Elsa waved through the window of Father's study as I waved back and mounted a horse. I trotted to the open gates with the two soldiers by my side.<p>

"Can I come, too?" a voice asked.

"Olaf?" I asked in surprise.

He hopped out from behind a snow bank. He peered at me with a huge grin on his face.

"Of course you can, Olaf." I stopped immediately. "Hop on," I told the animated snowman as the guards looked uncertainly at each other. Even with Elsa as a queen for nearly two years, a lot of the magic was still hard for many to get used to.

I helped him up and he snuggled closely, without his snow cloud following him today. The weather was still cold enough he didn't need it.

"Where are we going, Anna?"

"To Gromstaud," I informed him as we galloped down the streets of town, speaking of a small waterside village within Arendelle.

"I love Gromstaud!" He told me excitedly as I smiled slightly, knowing that most likely Olaf had never been anywhere close. "But why are we going there?"

"Elsa wants me to check in on the progress there," I shrugged. "I don't know exactly why," I added hastily in anticipation of Olaf's next question.

"Princess! Wait please!" One of the guards said as we approached a particularly icy road. He jumped off his horse and proceeded to remove the ice with a mallet, making sure nothing was icy enough that a princess might fall off her horse.

I waited impatiently and huffed at the lack of adventure. Olaf echoed my own thoughts when he said, "I miss, Kristoff."

I sighed sadly and fingered one of my reddish braids absentmindedly. "Me, too. He'll be back soon, Olaf. And then we can have real adventures again," I said pointedly as the guards double-checked the road.

Soon we were off again, and after almost two hours of variously icy roads we approached Gromstaud. Immediately, I saw what Elsa had meant by "work left to be done". Many parts of Arendelle had suffered miserably by the icy storm Elsa had brought on two years ago. I had thought that everywhere had long been repaired. But as I surveyed Gromstaud, I was forced to conclude that there was a lot of work left until Arendelle was completely repaired.

Large dark stones were scattered everywhere as debris from the many houses that had once lined the streets. Mounds of snow covered the ruined possessions of its inhabitants; I passed wooden rocker chairs, bed frames, and even a torn apart doll house. Eventually, we reached the town square, and I was relieved to see that at least most of the surrounding houses here were in fine condition.

I hopped off my horse without looking and promptly fell into a flurry a snow. The guards nearly sprinted to my side but Olaf helped me up before they could even reach me. I thanked him and dusted off my skirts.

"Oh! Hello!" I said in surprise as I looked up to see a group of several people staring at me. They stared back motionlessly as I gulped uncomfortably.

"What's wrong with them?" Olaf whispered loudly at my side. "Haven't they seen a princess before?"

I ignored Olaf and stepped forward, fighting a little to keep the friendly smile on my face. "Um, it's nice to meet all of you!" I looked eagerly, but nobody made any move to speak. "I'm here to um, help you in any way you might need. . ." I gulped a little at the many faces that gaped back at me.

A little girl escaped her mother and ran forward to stand in front of me. She looked questioningly up with her thumb in her mouth. "Are you the princess?"

I smiled and bent down so I was at her level. "Yes. My name is Anna." I curtsied and the little girl smiled and curtsied back. The people behind her started whispering.

She leaned closer and indicated with her mitten that I should lean in as well. I leaned it so her mouth was at my ear. "Can I pet your snowman?" she asked softly.

I giggled slightly at her seriousness and whispered back, "I think you're going to have to ask him yourself." I straightened and turned to Olaf. "Olaf, could you come here?"

Olaf bounced over and I turned back to the little girl. "This is my friend, Olaf. Olaf, this is –"I looked at the girl questioningly.

"Ida."

"Ida. What a pretty name," I told her honestly and she giggled. "Now, Olaf. I think Ida has a question for you."

Olaf scurried forward and finally the ice was broken. The other children walked forward and greeted Olaf while adults warily went up to me.

I smiled graciously as people came before me and bowed respectfully. I answered questions the best I could – most of the people wouldn't leave town until the weather had cleared completely, and therefore wished to hear updates on Arendelle's political and economic status. I wished vainly for Elsa beside me when questions turned technical. Therefore, I was exceptionally glad when little Ida went up to me and tugged at my sleeve.

"Are you the one who makes the snow?" She asked brazenly, her thumb still in her mouth.

Her mother came forward to gasp and scold her immediately. "Ida! Be respectful. You curtsey before the princess. Your highness," she turned her pleading face toward me. "I'm so very sorry. She is still young and –"

I waved her apology away immediately. "It's fine, really. I don't mind." I leaned down so I was at eyelevel with Ida. "That's my sister, Elsa. I'm regular – just like you."

"I wanted an ice castle," Ida informed me seriously. "Like the one in the story Mommy tells me."

I laughed and heard Olaf chuckle behind me. "I'll talk to her about it. But Elsa's kind of busy." I turned to face the rest of Gromstaud. "I would like to see your town, if you don't mind. Perhaps you could show me how the restorations are going?" I asked uncertainly.

People clamored to show me the rest of Gromstaud. I walked, one hand in Ida's and one in Olaf's, as we surveyed the small part of Arendelle. I was happy to see sights that Elsa's tireless efforts were paying off; I was shown the early efforts of building a new library, improvements to the school, and the framework for many new houses. I asked about the rubble I had encountered before Gromstaud. The people informed me how devastating the freezing temperature from Elsa's storm had been for towns that sat on the water, like Gromstaud.

I kept beaming until my cheeks were stiff. I'm sure I didn't look as stately as Elsa, but before we had finished the tour of the town, I had most people grinning back at me. It seemed like all anyone wanted was someone to listen to their concerns and troubles. I nodded and offered condolences from everything to the loss of a pet to a toothache. Despite the lack of practice, I found I wasn't a bad listener.

Before long, my stomach grumbled and I cringed at how "un-princess like" it was. Ida and the other children sniggered uncontrollably while their mothers scolded them, and I couldn't the grin off my face. Someone asked me if I like lunch at their home. Truly touched, I did my best to graciously accept.


	3. Love and its Insecurities

**Dun-da-dun-dun. . . Kristoff arrives! I couldn't write a Frozen fic without including SOME Kristoff + Anna. Just a little bit of an insight into their relationship before all the drama starts unfolding. Let me know what you think! **

I galloped home quickly with Olaf and the two guards alongside me. The light was rapidly fading and I knew Elsa would worry if I wasn't home before sunset. Eventually we reached the castle, and as I jumped off my horse, I realized how exhausted I was. My hands shook a little as I grabbed the horse's harness.

"Thank you for your time today," I turned and said to the guards, trying to sound grand like Elsa.

They both graciously bowed with echoing sentiments of, "It was our pleasure, Princess Anna."

"Olaf, could you do me a favor?" I asked him as I dismissed the guards and began to walk father down the path to the castle doors.

"Of course, Anna! What is it?" Olaf asked me with his easy grin.

"Would you tell Elsa that I've arrived safely?"

"Sure!" Olaf agreed easily with his typical big grin. "But where are you going?"

"I'm going to put my horse away. Tell Elsa I'll see her at dinner."

"Okay," Olaf called back as he hopped up the steps to the door of our home.

I smiled fondly after him, despite my fatigue, and wearily led the horse behind the castle to the royal stables. I rubbed my eyes and barely noticed the sleigh outside as I walked in the door.

"Sven?" I blinked wearily in confusion. The reindeer cheerily snorted back at me and bobbed his head, begging for a pat. I released the horse into a stall and returned to Sven to rub his nose gently.

"If you're back, that means. . ." I began with dawning realization.

"Anna!" A voice said behind me.

I turned around and saw Kristoff standing there with his mouth half open in surprise and his arms full of hay. I leapt forward and wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could without thinking about it.

"It's so good to see you!" I told him excitedly, my voice muffled against the hay.

"What?" He laughed down at my head.

I pulled back and sneezed loudly. "_I said_, I'm happy to see you!" I rubbed my nose self-consciously with slight shyness at my obvious affection.

Kristoff dropped the hay in front of Sven's stall, ignored Sven's snort of protest, and turned back to sweep me off my feet in a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm _so_ happy to see you," he told me honestly.

I couldn't keep the grin off my face, even when he bent down to kiss me softly. I put my mittens through his dusty blonde hair, still amazed he was there in front of me. Aided by my total exhaustion, his presence felt like a hazy dream instead of reality. I leaned against him, completely at ease, and would have loved for him to never stop. But, respectfully, he pulled back after a minute, and laughed at my pout.

"What are you doing in here, anyway?" He asked me as he bent to pick up the hay he had dropped. Sven bobbed his head in almost human like gratefulness as Kristoff fixed the stall for the poor guy. Shamefully, I went over to my almost forgotten horse and proceeded to undress him.

"I just got home. Elsa had me doing some princess duties today in Gromstaud," I called to him as I brushed down the horse.

"Really?" He asked and appeared at my shoulder to present the horse with a bucket of water. "What kind of things?"

"Ohmigosh, Kristoff. It was amazing!" I grinned at him. "Mostly it was just talking to people. But I think everyone really liked me. And all I did was listen to them. They took me all around town. I loved it," I said and realized how true it was. I loved catching up for lost time and playing with Elsa all day, but there was something that felt so right by spending my day with the people of Gromstaud. It was an unusual feeling, but I felt. . . Useful, I realized with surprise.

Kristoff smiled at me and his eyes crinkled as I waved my hands around rapidly, trying to describe everything to him. He caught one of my flapping hands with both of his to stop me after a minute.

"Why don't you tell me inside?" He said. "It's late – and the Queen probably missed you today." I followed him out of the stables into the darkening twilight.

"Elsa," I reminded him. "You can call her Elsa, Kristoff. She wants you to."

"I know," he told me sheepishly as he opened the door. He put a hand behind his head and scratched it absentmindedly. "It's still weird, though. She is my queen."

I turned around in the hall with a flip of my skirt. "She's my queen too! But in a couple of months she's going to be your sister-in-law," I laughed. "Then calling her Queen all the time is going to be _really_ weird."

He grinned at me, his face just turning slightly pink in the dim light. I stared back at him for a moment, not wanting to leave him and change for dinner.

"Anna?" Elsa called and entered the foyer. "There you are! Olaf said you would be right in, but I still worried. How was your – oh! Kristoff. You've returned. Hello." She curtsied formally with a slight smile.

"Your majesty. Queen! I mean El- I mean. . ." He gulped and bowed miserably. "It's nice to see you too."

Elsa indicated for him to raise himself up. "Kristoff. I've told you. Elsa is fine," she said gently.

"Yes. Uh, thank you." Kristoff scratched the back of his head again, and I had to fight the giggles so I wouldn't make this even more uncomfortable for him. Elsa turned to me and I thought I could see suppressed laughter in her blue eyes, too.

"So," she asked after a moment, with awkwardness hanging in the air. "Will you be joining us for dinner, Kristoff?"

"Um. Well, uh, yes, thank you. If that's all right with you, your highn- I mean Elsa."

"Of course! Anna," she turned to me and her blonde braid flipped over her shoulder. "You've had a long day. Why don't you take a quick bath and meet us in the dining room?"

"Sure," I replied quickly. Kristoff sent me a desperate pleading look behind Elsa's shoulder and I had to fight the laughter again. Elsa smiled at me and turned with an elegant twist to lead Kristoff down the hall.

"Help me," Kristoff mouthed to me, terror in his eyes, as he moved a foot to follow her.

"You'll be fine," I tried to whisper back. I thought I heard Elsa's faint chuckle anyway.

As they left the room, I finally let a snort of laughter out. Sure, Kristoff would take on killer snow monsters and deadly storms without a second thought. But put him and Elsa alone in the same room – and he was scared stiff.

* * *

><p>"And then –"I continued dramatically later that night at the dinner table. Elsa sat at the head of the table with Olaf and I to her right. Kristoff sat across from me. "They invited me back for lunch. At their house! I couldn't believe it!" I stabbed my fork dramatically into the potatoes on my plate. I lifted up a mouthful and chewed rapidly. "I think I did a really good job today, Elsa! They really seemed to like me!" I prattled on with a mouth full of food. I swallowed hastily and saw Kristoff snickering at his plate. I sent him a kick under the table.<p>

"Of course they liked you," Elsa said dismissively while Kristoff attempted to cover his "ouch" with a cough. Elsa gave him a curious look before turning her attention back to me. "I haven't met anyone who couldn't like you, Anna. But I'm glad it went well. Gromstaud has been through rough times, and I think they needed their morale boosted. How did the town look?"

"Bad," I told her honestly. "There were giant rocks everyone. And everybody's belongings just lay there in fields – I don't think they have anywhere to put them."

"Yes," Elsa nodded sadly. "I caused a lot of damage, unfortunately." She sighed for a moment and looked out the window as Kristoff and I exchanged a look and said nothing. "But," she said, turning back. "I think we'll be able to fix most of it before summer hits."

"Summer!" Olaf sighed with pleasure. He placed a stick hand to his cheek and looked off into the distance. "I can't wait."

I nodded in agreement and pushed another forkful of potatoes into my mouth. Elsa appraised Kristoff and I with a gleam in her eye. "And summer means your wedding, of course," she said to the both of us. She attempted to seem excited, but her eyes didn't quite match her mouth. I watched her fidget with her napkin in her lap.

I didn't quite know how to fix that, yet. How was I going to convince Elsa that she wasn't losing a sister, but gaining a brother?

"About that," I began. I blinked and turned to glance at Kristoff. "We were wondering. . . It's something that's important to well, both of us. We were hoping you would consider it." I trailed off for a moment and looked at Kristoff expectantly. He gulped.

Elsa flipped her head between us, slightly confused. "Yes?" she asked.

"We were wondering if the – well, _my_ troll family could come up," Kristoff said hastily in one breath. "I know this is important – half the kingdom is going to be there and all – but they're really important to me, and I was hoping it would, uh. If it. . ."

"If it was okay by you, your snow queenness," I interrupted slyly.

Elsa gave me a pointed glare for the nickname and then switched to mild surprise as she took in Kristoff's pleading face.

"Well, of course!" Elsa told us both with a slight chuckle. "Family is family. I expected them to all be there, Kristoff," she added honestly. "I look forward to meeting them."

Kristoff jerked his head up in pleased surprise. I could see how relieved he was. "Well, thank you, E-Elsa."

"Of course," she answered immediately. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to excuse myself." She pulled back her chair and stood, while Kristoff, Olaf, and I hastily clambered to our feet.

Elsa gave us a slightly awkward smile in return and dipped her head once. "And you really should too, Anna," she added. "You look ready to drop any moment."

"I'll be up soon," I told her.

She nodded and swept out of the room.

Olaf excused himself over something to do with Sven and a staring contest. Kristoff and I decided to venture off to  
>the library – where we began a rambunctious game of chess.<p>

"So. . ." I started. "I told you Elsa would say yes." I moved one of my pawns halfway across the board with a flourish. Kristoff had never learned how to play properly, so we usually just made up new rules as we went. It made for interesting games, seeing as how none of them were ever the exact same.

He smiled at me and then promptly took his knight to move my piece over three spaces. He placed his knight, head down, in my previous spot. "You were right," he agreed.

"Then why do you look unhappy?" I asked him carefully, moving another pawn forward.

"I'm not," he protested immediately.

"Kristoff," I said suspiciously.

"I'm not unhappy, Anna. Really," he countered and took one of my hands in his.

"Well then what is it?" I asked him seriously, as I took in his pulled together blonde eyebrows.

He sighed lightly and looked down, avoiding my eyes. "I'm nervous," he said softly, and moved another one of his chess pieces forward.

"Nervous for what? The wedding?" I asked, trying not to indicate how disappointed I was. "Do you want to cancel it?"

"No! No, Anna, I don't." He gripped my hand tighter in his giant one. "I'm not _nervous_ like that. I'm sure about you," he added softly.

"Yeah?" I asked, my eyes downcast this time.

"Yes," he said firmly. He took his other hand and lifted my chin up. The chess game was all but forgotten.

"Then tell me Kristoff! What's bothering you?" I insisted.

"All those people," he began. "They're going to be watching us."

"Sure," I shrugged.

"What are they going to think . . .?" He gulped. "When the princess of Arendelle is marrying a. . ."

"An ice harvester?" I finished for him. I huffed slightly.

Kristoff nodded slightly, looking a little lost for words.

"They're not going to think anything," I informed him adamantly. I pulled away from his hand and jumped up from my seat.

"Anna, come on," Kristoff said, jumping up himself.

"No – you come on. Nobody will care that you're not a royal."

"I'm not even a noble," Kristoff shook his head with a frown. "All these important people coming to your wedding are going to care, Anna."

"_Our_ wedding," I reminded him. "And I don't care what those people think anyway. The only people who have opinions that matter to me are you and Elsa. And Elsa has given us her blessing a billion times."

"You and Elsa aren't exactly normal royalty, though," Kristoff said knowingly.

"Hey!"

Kristoff shrugged, not about to take it back. "You know it's true."

I paced a little ran my hand through my left braid. "You know what, you're right."

Kristoff coughed frantically and looked up at me incredulously. "Um, excuse me. What did you just say?"

I ignore him. "Well, people got used to Elsa, didn't they? They got used to the queen that froze the whole of Arendelle. So I don't see why they can't get used to a marriage between a clumsy princess and a mountain man."

Kristoff laughed a little and put his hands through his hair. "Anna. . ."

"No," I stopped him. "If people don't like it in the beginning. . . Well, they will eventually. They'll accept us, Kristoff. I know they will." I stood there, unwavering, with my hands folded across my chest.

"That is of course," I gulped. "If you still want to." I stood still with my head high, but inside I was thinking of years ago, when a man told me with a smug grin, _If only someone loved you. _

"Anna!" Kristoff stepped forward immediately pushed my head against his chest. "Of course I do." He tilted my head back so we could make eye-contact. "There are so many people who love you, Anna." Of course he knew exactly where my mind was. I swallowed slowly and bit my lip. "I'm just one of them," he said to me affectionately and bent down so our lips met.

He didn't stop this time – and I was touched by that as well. I guess he supposed my needs came above propriety. I lost track of time a little, instead wondering how someone who is so strong and immense can have lips so soft.

"You're falling asleep on me," he accused me after some time, he face still right in front of me.

"No," I protested with my eyes still shut. I felt myself sway and Kristoff caught my arm sharply before I could fall. "I'm not – I swear," I told him, trying to be stern. By Kristoff's chuckle, I could tell it wasn't working.

I swayed again, nearly falling over, and Kristoff caught my body before I could hit the ground. He picked me up fully and walked out the door of the library with me cradled in his arms.

"It has nothing to do with you. I'm just, really –"I cut myself off with a wide yawn, my eyes still closed firmly. "Really, tired." I leaned my cheek against his shoulder and felt his arms tighten around me.

"I'm awake, though!" I said suddenly, lifting my head up despite my closed eyes.

"Sure you are," Kristoff said with a laugh. "It's okay, Anna. Go back to sleep." We turned the corridors until Kristoff opened another door. I smelled the sweet lavender of my room.

He placed me gently down on my bed and pulled up my covers. I snuggled in happily and reached out for his hand.

"Stay another minute," I pleaded.

"I can't and you know it," Kristoff whispered. "What is it?"

"I love you," I told him frankly.

He paused a minute and then I felt the bed creak as he bent down and kissed my forehead.

"I love you too, Anna. Goodnight." He squeezed my hand one more time. The last thing I remember was the creak of the door as he shut it quietly.


	4. The Arrival

**Finally, finally, finally! The King and Queen arrive! It probably shouldn't have taken me four chapter to write them in (seeing as how that is the pretense of this piece of fanfiction) but I wanted to build a little on Elsa and Anna's lives (and life together) before I changed everything around too much. **

**This chapter was actually surprisingly the hardest for me to write. Not only did I suffer from writer's block of not knowing WHAT to write, I actually changed this chapter from its original write, pretty dramatically. Which not only is my excuse for not posting in a while - but also brings me to a decision. **_**When **_**I finish the story,**** I plan on adding a chapter of all my first drafts of chapters that didn't make the final cut. And I don't mean pointless first writes where the writing is crappy - only when I wrote an idea in almost completion, and then changed it for the final draft. Hopefully it will add a little depth to the story as the alternate scenarios that could have played out - and not be useless writing that would otherwise stay in my recycling bin. **

**One more thing: a huge, big, incredible THANK YOU to all the people who have followed/favorited this story. I am literally in awe that I'm not the only one who reads/enjoys it. SO THANK YOU!**

**Read, review, enjoy :)**

The next morning Kristoff and I shared smiles over our porridge and toast in the dining room. Though we were anything but alone (Elsa sat at the head of table and a plethora of servants were forever present if the queen was in the room), our smiles felt somewhat secretive and private. It was something just between the two of us.

"Anna?" Elsa said, trying to catch my attention.

"Mhmm?" I replied, turning to look at my sister. Her expression indicated that she had been trying to get my attention for a while.

"Well, what do you think?" She asked, suddenly innocent.

"Um." _What was she talking about?_ _I had no idea whatsoever. _I shoveled in another spoonful of porridge and stalled for time. "Well, that sounds great. Perfect, Elsa."

"Really? So you have no problem with it?"

"Um, no. Of course not," I continued weakly, sensing a trap.

"Wow. Well, I'm surprised. But we'll announce it today, and I'm sure it will go over well for you." _Uh, oh_. "I know there's a lot of work ahead of you, but I think as head of the taxes board," _Taxes Board? _ "-you'll really appreciate the economic situation at hand. You can start next week with the interest rates - "

"Wait, what?" I nearly shouted, my spoon clattering on my plate.

Elsa dropped the façade and gave me her best vexed and exasperated expression in one. "Have you listened to a single word I've said?"

"Uh, no," I said with a sheepish smile.

She sighed. "I can tell." A servant came forward and took her plate. Elsa gave them a smile of thanks and turned back to me. "I was thinking of going into town today. Would you like to join me?"

"Yes," I replied hurriedly. "I would love to." I beamed at her.

"Good. And how about you, Kristoff? Perhaps Sven would like a walk into town?"

"Oh! Yes. That sounds great, uh, Elsa," Kristoff tried his best to smile genuinely. I snorted when it looked more like a grimace.

Elsa rolled her eyes and laughed despite herself. "Well, alright then. You two can go back to ogling each other. I'm going to get ready."

Kristoff was blushing as we both rose with Elsa and waited until she swept from the room. I can't imagine what she had left to get ready; she looked her ever perfect queenly self. Her grey dress was as elegant as the rest of her wardrobe. Though, in actuality, most would probably find the light layers uncomfortable on a chilly winter day like today.

"What are we going into town for?" I whispered to Kristoff after she had left the room.

He shrugged, as lost as I was.

"You're shopping for your cousin's birthday," Kai, one of the servants, stage whispered. His face was in a deadpan.

I giggled. "Well, okay then. Outing for everybody."

* * *

><p>An hour later, we were walking down the bustling streets of Arendelle. I was nearly jumping up and down, trying to take everything in. Kristoff chuckled at me, but I was too excited by all the activity, all the people, to care.<p>

A man's face turned red as he held his fish up to the merchant, angry words already spewing from both their mouths. A little girl fell and cut her knee. Her lips trembled furiously until a woman bent down to pick her up, and simultaneously planted a well-practiced kiss on her wound. Two little boys ran past, their hands full of sweets. A man with a heavy mustache and an even heavier accent produced a flower beneath his coat for a pretty girl who fluttered her eyelashes in return.

I reveled in it all and grinned a huge smile from ear to ear. Elsa gently admonished me twice when I began to skip. I grabbed her arm and tried to slow to her pace.

"Don't you love it all?" I whispered in her ear.

She turned and gave me a soft smile. "Of course I do. I've missed this, too."

I laughed and ran ahead. Kristoff pointed out the different flags on the ships to me, and that stopped me for a while. He had just started to explain the difference between two similarly shaped foreign flags when I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the docks.

A few people gave me scandalized looks, but Elsa's appeasing smile fixed most of the damage. She followed behind us with Sven and Olaf.

"Anna!" she called. "We do have a point for our visit to town today."

"Uh huh!" I called back. I dragged Kristoff to the very edge of the dock. We stared at our reflections for a moment: his giant one with a head of dusty blonde hair, and my smaller red-hairedish, freckled one. Kristoff picked up a stone and threw it at our two figures in the water. The stone moved the water, creating ripples and distorting our bodies.

"It's beautiful," I said in awe.

"The water?" Kristoff shrugged.

I nudged him with my shoulder. "If it was ice, you'd be crying right now," I teased him. I turned back to the water though, fascinated.

"Anna," Kristoff asked in a strange voice. "Are you afraid of water?"

I looked up at him in surprise. I followed his gaze though, to my hands tightly bunching the fabric around his arm. I relaxed my fingers, stiff from their tight hold.

I nodded in agreement. "Elsa and I both are," I said, quietly. We both turned to see her warily edging down the dock, using Sven as a support.

"Because of your parents?" He asked gently, turning back to me.

I nodded glumly. "A little. But mostly. . ." I hesitated. But this is Kristoff, for goodness sake. Of course I can tell him. I stand on tip-toe and whisper in his ear, "I never learned to swim."

His raised his eyebrows at me, but didn't laugh like I had worried he would. "Well, let's fix that," he said.

He picked me up and dangled me over the water. "1, 2 . . ."

"Kristoff! Put me down!" I screamed and laughed at the same time.

"Ready, Anna?" He said, and even though my hands are covering my face, I can hear the smile in his voice.

"No! I am not ready," I yelped.

"You're not really going to drop her, right?" I heard Elsa's worried voice behind us.

Kristoff pulled me back and firmly placed me back on the dock. "No," he said with a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head.

"He was kidding, Elsa," I told her, giving him a push even as I said it.

She smiled and shook her head. "Back to the shops?" She asked me, offering me her arm.

"Yes, please," I told her, noticing her nervous expression.

We were slowly making our way back to the stairs at the other end when we heard shouts coming from one of the boats. A man appeared, shaking his head angrily, and turned back to yell at someone.

I felt the tension in Elsa's arm, and we stopped to observe.

"I don't really care! It's the queen's orders! You have a problem with it, please, take it up with her majesty," the man shouted, his face turning purple with frustration.

Elsa stepped forward without releasing my hand. "What are my orders?" she asked, her voice patient.

The man nearly fainted at the sight of her, elegant grey dress, crown proudly atop her braided bun. She blinked her blue eyes and asked again. "What are my orders, Sir. . .?"

"Edward, your majesty." He bowed lowly, mollified for the time being. "I was just telling these stowaways that no one can enter the Kingdom of Arendelle without proper identification, of course." He bowed again.

Elsa hesitated slightly. That was her order – I remembered when she passed that edict. It was one of her first as queen. She figured it would help prevent people like the Duke of Weasleton from entering our borders without her knowledge.

"Was there a problem with their paperwork?" Elsa asked calmly.

"Uh, no. Your majesty." He bowed his purple head again. "They have none. Claim that their papers were lost in a storm at sea." He made no effort to disguise his face to how skeptical he was to their story.

"How terrible for them," Elsa said immediately, with concern. "But of course, they should not be punished for their misfortunes," she added, with a disproving look towards Sir Edward. I felt a flash of pride for Elsa, and turned to see Kristoff's impressed expression.

"Where do you hail from?" Elsa called out to the people aboard the ship. Sir Edward immediately bowed and stepped aside to let the people up on the deck, his face rapidly turning a darker shade of plum.

A large man with grey hair and broad shoulders appeared first, and then turned to help a slight woman up the ladder from below. They were both wearing shabby and ill-fitting brown clothing. Their faces were full of unabashed shock.

The sun shined brightly in my eyes for a moment, and I shielded my face with me left hand. I felt Elsa release my right hand.

"Elsa?" I asked, confused and still blinded by the light. I heard sobbing. "Elsa?" I repeated with alarm, taking a step forward despite the light.

Kristoff caught my arm before I could topple off the dock into the water. But when I turned to look at him, he wasn't looking at me. Confused, I followed his bewildered gaze to see Elsa with the man and woman from the boat. Her arms were wrapped around the man, with her cheek tightly pressed to his chest. She wept as tears slid down her face.

"Oh my. . ." Sir Edward whispered. He obviously got something I didn't, because he promptly jumped off the boat and took off running down the dock toward town, yelling something at the top of his lungs.

But I couldn't quite hear what he was saying because everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. Kristoff gripped my shoulder and lightly pushed me forward. I stumbled but the woman in loose brown clothing caught me in an embrace.

I almost pulled back – I wasn't used to strangers hugging me – but there was something eerily familiar about her face. Something I had recognized the moment I saw her, but had blocked out, because there was no way . . . any possible way. . . I mean I was certain that she couldn't be. . .

"Mama," I cried, and wrapped my arms tightly around her back.

* * *

><p>Elsa and I peeked around the corner uncertainly. There the king and the queen – our parents – were, sitting quite at ease in Elsa's study. They quietly sipped tea in front of the fireplace. It was as if they hadn't been missing the last five years.<p>

"They look older," I whispered to Elsa. Our mother's hair, though not completely grey, has white streaks mixed in with the ebony. She looked frailer, too, more skin and bone than I remembered. Papa had lost most of his intimidating muscle. He was stooped over. With the grey hair, he looked like an old man.

"Of course they do," she whispered back. "Who knows what they've been through these last few years." Elsa had gotten herself together rather quickly after she lost control briefly and sobbed into our father's chest. She had made orders in a rush, and before we knew it, there was a coach bringing all of us up to the castle.

The bustling streets of Arendelle had turned silent as people stood in the streets, gaping, as we passed. It was an eerie kind of silence that had made me shiver.

"Do you think we should ask them? What happened, I mean?" I asked Elsa, always expecting her to know the answer.

She bit her lip. "I'm not sure they'll want to tell us." She turned her back to them and sighed heavily. She fretfully stroked her pale braid, and I realized how nervous she was.

"I wish Kristoff was here," I said mournfully, sighing as well. He had disappeared almost immediately upon our return to the castle with a kiss to my cheek and a, 'I'll give you guys some privacy'.

"It's better this way, Anna," Elsa replied immediately. "We'll spring Kristoff on them some other time." I pouted a little, even though Elsa was right.

I stopped her hand on its way back up to her hair. "Let's go in," I suggested, with a tilt of my head toward our parents.

Elsa took a calming breath and placed her hand in mine. "Okay."

We entered the room together. My mother looked up immediately, the slight creases around her eyes spreading as she smiled.

"Girls," she said quietly. She opened he arms to embrace us.

I quickly peeked at my father over my mother's shoulder and was startled to see him looking bewildered.

"Arendelle has changed a lot," he said in his deep voice after the three of us part. His eyes stayed on me and Elsa as we sat down together on a love seat, and I realized what he meant. Five years ago Elsa and I had perhaps only seen each other once a day, when our family had dinner. And even then, we sat on opposite sides of the table, and usually didn't speak directly to each other.

"For the better," I said with a smile, holding Elsa's hand. "I suppose we have stories for you, too."

"For another day," Elsa hedged immediately.

I nodded in agreement, knowing Elsa had no intention of telling them about the freezing of Arendelle right now. Her right hand tugged restlessly at her pretty dress, so I squeezed her left harder. She had no reason to be nervous.

"Please. Mama, Papa. Tell us where you have been," I implored.

My parents looked at each other. Mama bit her lip furiously. My father reached forward to grip her shoulder with a soft smile.

"Okay. We will tell you what happened when we left Arendelle, five years ago." Papa took a deep breath.


	5. The Journey Back

**First things first: don't get alarmed when you see that a lot of this is italicized. Based on where this left off in the previous chapter, you can conclude that this is the story of what happened to Mama and Papa that left them alive, yet took them five years to get back to Arendelle. **

**I was kind of at a loss for how to write this exactly. (Which is why the update took so long, but that's another story). Obviously, this story is told through Anna's perspective, and she wasn't even there, which complicates things. But the main issue was that Papa is telling this to the girls, and no matter how interesting what he's saying is, endless run-on paragraphs of dialogue is nobody's idea of something fun to read, least of all mine. **

**Also, though this is important to the story (duh, they're supposed to be dead) it also isn't the highlight of what I'm trying to write in the Queen of Arendelle. So I can't afford for it to be a sub story that takes a couple chapters. In fact, we're only just kind of getting to the "main" part in the next couple chapters (God help us all, I cannot afford to let this story take over my life). **

**Anyway back to the italicization. My final decision was to make the majority of what Papa is saying in italics. In fact, everything that is a part of HIS story of the past five years is in italics. I briefly divert back to the present twice (because no one also wants to read 2,000 something words in italics either) which is where the writing stops being italics. I think it works out better for you to easily decipher what is past and what is present, and also to know what Papa is saying to the girls without useless dialogue quotation thingies. I'll stop rambling now. As always - read and enjoy! Let me know what you think :)**

_The day we left the sky was a perfect, cloudless blue. It was a good sign before our journey – though it did little to soothe our nerves. It was the first time we were to leave Arendelle since both of you girls were born. And of course, there were other concerns. . . _

_Anyway, we were a bit uneasy, but still felt the journey was well timed. We knew that it would have to happen eventually, at least. And it wasn't meant to be a long trip – a week at most. But of course, it wasn't that simple. _

_It wasn't long after we left before we felt cursed. Dark clouds circled around us from seemingly out of nowhere in the middle of the ocean. Within minutes the entire crew was soaked to bone, desperately trying to get out of cloud cover. Eventually it became clear that the boat was going to capsize, with or without us in it. _

_The captain recommended using some of the smaller rowboats and taking our chances with the waves. It seemed ridiculous – to venture out in tiny boats with waves high enough to topple our royal vessel. But it quickly became clear it was our only option. So, we braced ourselves and piled in with a vigor that implied we weren't entering and accepting our deathly fate. _

_We watched the waves crush the vessel before we were whipped away. I still have a scar on my left hand from gripping the edge of the boat, but despite our odds, everyone managed to stay in our rowboat. Eventually, the waves slowed and the dark clouds vanished. And almost as quickly as it came, the storm was gone and we were calmly floating along the ocean as if nothing had ever happened. _

_Except of course that we were in a tiny rowboat with no food or supplies. We had no idea where we could even try and direct the boat to land. It seemed pointless to use our energy to direct the boat to what was most likely just more ocean, so we let the current direct us. _

_We were out there for a long time. It seems. . . Fuzzy now. But I think we were probably floating on the ocean for three or four days. By the time a boat came across us, no one was even coherent enough to wave for help. _

_The boat ended up being filled with simple merchants who didn't have the room for us. They were friendly as anything, though. Dropped us off at the nearest island waving away and leaving us with a basket full of whatever food they had managed to scrounge up. _

_I suppose it was arrogant of us, to assume that it would be easy to get back home after that. But the hardest part hadn't even started yet. _

Papa stopped to take a sip of water. Elsa's hand gripped tightly and I squeezed lightly back in the most reassuring way I could.

"We can take a break," Elsa said after a minute. I knew she saw how tired Mama and Papa both looked.

Papa slowly got up and crouched by the fire. He winced a little, stretching his joints. Mama looked at him, her brow crinkled slightly in concern.

"It is better you know, my loves," Mama said eventually, turning to look at us. She smiled gently. "We should get it all out now. It's been a long time, and you deserve to know," she repeated from earlier.

I fidgeted a little at her words and thought of Kristoff uneasily. I was worried that I had already made a mistake by not mentioning him already. Mama and Papa deserved to know. Elsa patted my leg reassuringly, of course reading my mind, and I smiled ruefully at the role reversal.

"Yes," Papa repeated. "I just need a moment." He wiped his forehead wearily. He looked so tired that I was almost insisted he stop. But he stared back in the fire and continued.

_The crew, your mother and I followed the road for several miles until we reached a town. The people were terribly poor but kind. Children ran around everywhere covered in rags. Old women tried to feed us and men shook my hand. The climate and wildlife was identical to our region, but no one had even heard of Arendelle when we asked. And once we asked about the ruling family, everyone seemed to shrink back from us. _

_Finally after we insisted, a terrified woman told us to follow the road and take a left at the fork. But when we asked her what was wrong, she fled back to her house. Uneasy, we thanked them and wearily walked back on the road. We were exhausted, but we were all anxious to get home. Your mother and I especially. _

_After we arrived at the gates, we were beckoned in by a gracious staff. We were waiting in the throne room and I felt cautiously optimistic for the first time. I was certain any royal family would feel obliged to help us return to our home, especially with the gold we had to offer in Arendelle. _

_A woman came out soon and greeted us warmly. She told us that she had heard of our plight, and was happy to arrange for our voyage home. She said she was queen of the land, and that our well-being was reward enough for ensuring we arrived back in Arendelle. We were so relieved, we didn't question anything. _

_She graciously escorted us to chambers filled with soft beds and warm food. The queen told us to rest easy, for she would have boats ready for us the next day. Foolishly, everyone in our group fell asleep in blissful optimism of our impending return. In hindsight, of course, someone should have stayed awake to keep guard in a stranger's castle. _

_We awoke the next day in chains, and before long were deep in the dungeons. The twenty of us that had survived the storm were separated into two attached cells and left to wonder what in the world was going on. There was only one other soul in the dungeons with us: an old man with a scraggly beard and erratic eyes. We attempted to converse with him, but he never even looked up at us. Occasionally he would mutter to himself in a foreign tongue and spit at the ground. We were forced to conclude that he was likely insane and incapable of understanding us anyway. _

_Weeks passed, only interrupted by a guard bringing us meager supplies of moldy bread. A few other men and I berated the guards with questions, but they simply ignored us. It was chilling, to be frank. They acted as if tending to prisoners was common to them. But eventually, the queen came down and spoke to us. _

_She informed us that trying to leave her kingdom was a crime and punishable offense. We had incurred imprisonment for the act of treason, but could go to trial to have the opportunity to defend ourselves. But, she warned, if we failed to disprove the treason offense, the punishment was death. _

_I tried to create a system of order to discuss our next move, but my words were useless for hours while the crew yelled, screamed, and cried. I insisted that we discuss the matter and decide as a group what we wanted to do. At first, there were a few people who didn't want to take the chance of death. But the people of Arendelle are a brave people. And so we informed the queen that we would be representing ourselves at trial. _

_But I believe more than two years passed before anything happened. Allegedly, the trials couldn't begin into 'events were settled'. I think the queen was trying to dishearten us – and it worked. The years of lying on stone and living on a diet of breadcrumbs and impure water make us all sick and weary. We hadn't seen the sunlight since we had first come to her castle. And Arendelle seemed very far away. _

_Finally, one of the crew, a young boy named Josef, was taken from the other cell. We were worried for him, but I think that most of us were mainly relieved something was finally happening. After Josef, every few days or so, an individual was taken from a cell. We assumed that they were being taken for trial – but none every came back. Our numbers were dwindling until it was just your mother and I, a handful of our remaining crew, and the old man. _

_We sincerely doubted that any of the crew who had been taken were now freed, and figured that our chances were about the same. And there was only one guard sent down to us with food now. So we devised a plan. When the guard came again the next day, your mother pretended to faint. His slight hesitation was all we needed. We hit him sharply in the head with the metal pole we had jimmied free from the back corner of the cell. He was knocked out cold, and we just managed to reach out through the bars and grab the keys. _

_We almost forgot about the old man in the corner of the cage. But your mother unlocked his cell and coaxed him out. He lingered nervously, keeping one hand on the wall. He kept looking over his shoulder, paranoid of something. But once he was free of the cage, he followed us nonetheless._

_We slipped through the castle carefully until we reached the front doors to the castle. With no one in sight, we frantically tried to open the doors. But no matter how much we pulled and pried, the doors wouldn't budge. We had just decided to try and look for another way out when the Queen appeared out of nowhere. _

_She screamed wickedly at us, obviously furious at our escape. She raised one hand and there was a flash of smoke as she turned one of our men into a pig. An actual pig with a pink tail who oinked before trotting off down the corridor. We were all stuck in horror, realizing we had no chance against a sorceress. _

_But all of a sudden the old man flittered around and frantically patted something into our hands. He had hidden some sort of root in the lining of his clothing. We had seen him eat the occasional one before in his jail cell – so we knew they weren't poisonous. But we were still reluctant to eat the oddly colored thing he had now passed into our hands. _

_While the Queen was still looking curiously at us, he motioned for us to put the root in our mouths. He kept repeating the same motion insistantly, hand to mouth and stomach, when the Queen raised her hand and cursed him. _

_And nothing happened. _

_There was the flash of purple smoke, and his eyes went wide, but he was still a human man when it cleared. The Queen began screaming again and we shoved the roots down our throats as quickly as we could. She tried to curse each of us, again and again, but it seemed that whatever the root was protected us from her spells. The Queen grew angrier and more frustrated with each casting. _

_The old man tapped my side, and I looked down in surprise to see a sword that had somehow appeared and was now hanging on my hip. He motioned for me to use it, and so with slight trepidation, I pulled the sword out of its sheath and advanced on the evil Queen. The old man kept nodding at me frantically, so I continued to advance forward. _

_She kept trying to curse me as I approached, but nothing affected me at all. Once I was a few feet in front of her, I swung my blade with a thrust forward. The minute the steel touched her skin, her entire body turned into a thousand pieces of glittering glass. They blew away from us up into the air, and then there was nothing left of her. _

_Feeling hollow and wasted, we were now able to open the door and walked out from the castle to the street. It was then we realized that the old man had vanished as well. We looked for him for a long time – wanting to thank him for saving our lives. We concluded that he must have been in possession of some type of magic as well, which would explain the roots and the sword. So most likely he vanished of his own choosing. _

_After that, our story thankfully gets fairly boring. We continued to the village where the townsfolk rejoiced at our news of the Queen's demise. She had terrorized that entire land for many years, not allowing any of them to leave and seek help. The people were finally able to be free of her, and took us in, feeling as though we were their saviors. They cared for us until we were all well again. And then we began our new mission to find a way off the land and to get home to Arendelle and you girls. _

_I could go on for hours about what a struggle building the boat was. We spent months collecting enough wood, and it was nearly a year when we finally created a vessel capable of sailing the ocean. But a terrible and bizarre winter storm destroyed our entire efforts. After a few days the terrible winds and snow stopped, and the snow melted quickly. But we were forced to start over again. _

_Some of the men were reluctant to leave the village when we finally ready to go. We had lived amongst the villagers for years and they had become our close friends. And all of us were afraid to be out on the ocean again. So your mother and I weren't terribly surprised when we were the only two on the boat to sail off for Arendelle. We not only had you girls to return to – but a kingdom that needed us. _

_We followed the stars, and despite many challenges navigating the boat ourselves against terrible cross-winds, we managed to arrive in Arendelle after a few months. _

My father coughed and cleared his throat. I was unable to even blink, transfixed by his story.

"And that of course, leads to when you girls saw us at the docks. And now we're here."

"Reunited at last," Mama said tearfully.

"Oh, Mama. Papa. You went through so much," Elsa whispered, her voice shaking slightly. "We never imagined. . ."

"Word had reached us that your boat capsized," I added. "We believed that you were, well. . ."

"Dead," Papa concluded solemnly.

I nodded mutely, flashing back to that terrible day. Waves of grief that threatened to topple me. Mourning for my parents. Forced to deal with their absence. Alone. I wouldn't go back to that time for anything.

"Everything will be okay again," Mama smiled, wiping away her tears. "Now that we are back home."

Elsa smiled and nodded, and I followed suit. But something about my mother's phrasing didn't quite sit right with me. Elsa and I had missed our parents terribly, of course. . . But they had disappeared a long time ago. Things had been more than okay for a while now. Ever since Elsa and I reconnected, at least. Which reminded me. . .

"Elsa doesn't stay locked up anymore," I declared suddenly, and everyone turned to stare at me. "I just thought I should mention that."

Elsa looked quite touched. "Anna knows everything," Elsa explained, turning back to our taken-aback parents. "But it's late. That's something we can talk about tomorrow. Both of you should rest."

We escorted our parents to their bedchamber. We had never been able to bear clearing out their room, and we had plenty of space in the castle, so it had remained in the exact condition they had left it in.

"You did that on purpose," I whispered as Elsa and I walked back after kissing our parents goodnight.

"Did what?" Elsa asked a little too innocently.

"You're avoiding telling them about the whole frozen Arendelle thing."

"Perhaps," Elsa hedged. "But how do you suggest I tell them that I froze our entire kingdom? Never mind turning you to ice." Elsa shuddered.

"Also, that storm that destroyed the boat they made on the island was probably you too," I added reasonably.

"You caught that too, huh?"

"'Course I did. But Elsa, they love you. They're happy to be home in Arendelle. With us. Anything that happened while they were gone is going to be water under the boat or whatever."

"Bridge," Elsa automatically corrected. "But Anna. . ."

"Mhmm?" I said, half turned towards my door.

"Am I still queen?" Elsa said in very small voice that sounded nothing like her.

"What do you mean, are you still queen?" I asked, shocked.

"I mean I was crowned queen, but that was because they were supposedly dead. Now the real king and queen are ready to rule. What does that mean for me?"

"You're a real queen, too! We'll figure it out," I insisted but it fell flat. Elsa brought up a good point. What _would_ happen now? "Mama and Papa will know what to do," I finally concluded before my mind could go haywire.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Elsa said. But her slight smile didn't reach her worried eyes.

I kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly. "Don't worry about it Elsa. We have our parents back. Isn't that what we've always wanted?"

"Yes, it is." Elsa said, more warmly this time. "I'm just tired. Tomorrow we will figure it all out."

"Exactly. Goodnight, Elsa." I gave her one more squeeze and bounded off to my room.

"Goodnight Anna."

**Okay so one more thing I feel needs some explanation: **

**Originally, I had modeled the evil queen in this after the Snow Queen in the Hans Christen Anderson story (that Frozen was kind-of-not-really modeled after). I allude to that with the whole shattering into a thousand pieces of glass thing, if you know the story. I thought that was cute little tie in with a Frozen fanfic. **

**But I quickly discovered that most of what happens in that story doesn't really fit here. Least of all when the people in that story escape the queen. So at a complete loss for how they would escape, I do what great erm, artists do. I stole.**

**For those of you who have taken high school English, and were undoubtedly forced to read The Odyssey, you might recognize that the events within the evil queen's palace aren't that different to what happens to Odysseus on Circe's island. (The evil sorceress (Circe) turning them into pigs thing, the roots and instruction given by an outsider (Hermes) thing, etc). **

**Frankly, I needed an idea, I've always loved Circe. Once I wrote the whole turning them into pig thing, the rest just kind of worked out. Obviously she's not Circe, and the other man isn't Hermes. That's just my inspiration. It's kind of weird, but I mean Elsa has snow magic. And Trolls have. . . healing magic? So who says that there can't be pig magic in the Frozen universe. **

**Yeah... So that's my justification... Yeah. :)**


	6. A Chess Game

"Anna." Knock, knock. "Are you awake? Anna." Knock, knock.

I groaned and rolled over, covering my head with my pillow.

"Anna, come on. I know you're there."

"No, I'm not." I grumbled, my eyes closed and still half asleep.

"Anna. Please." My eyes opened at that. I would have walked through fire for that voice – so crawling out of bed to the door shouldn't have been that hard.

"Kristoff. What's wrong?" I said in one breath, opening the door and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Oh." He looked surprised. "Um, maybe I should come back. . ."

"No, it's okay." I opened the door wider. "What do you want to talk about? So very early in the morning, might I add?"

He chuckled, but still rubbed his neck subconsciously. "It's nearly eleven, Anna. Everyone has been up for hours. But I'll come back in a few -"

"Why are you being weird?" I asked straight out, wrinkling my nose.

"I'm not being weird!"

"Yes you are. You're acting all nervous."

"Anna . . . I should . . . Well I should wait until you're ready." Kristoff turned as red as a beet. It was then I realized I had answered the door in my nightgown.

"Oh. Well don't be so silly about it!" I ushered him into my room. "I'll change behind the divider. Just give me a minute." Kristoff sat at the very edge of my bed, his face still endearingly pink.

"So what did you want come to talk to me about?" I called from behind the partition after a moment.

"Well, your parents are downstairs," Kristoff began.

"Mhmm?" I continued when he hesitated.

"I wasn't sure if you had told them about us yet. So, I didn't want to go down until I talked to you."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Oh."

"Well, did you tell them yet?"

"Um. Well, no." I admitted, tying the ribbon of my dress as I walked out from behind the divider.

"Oh."

"Not for any particular reason," I assured him quickly. "There was just so much going on last night . . . I have to tell you all of it! They've been through so much since they left. They nearly died, well a bunch of times!"

"Elsa told me most of it this morning. It's some story."

"It is. You saw Elsa this morning?" I asked, surprised. "Why didn't you have her introduce you to our parents?"

"Elsa thought that you should probably do that," Kristoff said, looking uncomfortable again.

"Wh-. Oh my goodness. You're both wimps. They're just people!"

"Sure," Kristoff smiled.

"Okay, well let's go!" I bounced and grabbed his hand.

"Anna," Kristoff started to laugh. "One more thing."

"What do you mean?" I looked down at my dress. He hid his laughter with a cough and pointed to my hair.

I groaned, knowing how bad my bed head is. "Does it look bad?"

"No," he said immediately with a kiss to my cheek. He looked me seriously in the eyes. "I'll never hesitate on that question again, you know."

I smiled.

"Unless of course you actually want the truth."

"Kristoff!" I swiped at him and he jumped back, laughing.

I giggled though when I turned to the mirror and fix my hair.

"Well don't you look very pretty," Elsa greeted me as Kristoff and I entered the library. She rose, as she typically did when I entered a room, regardless of how ridiculous it was for a queen to stand for a princess.

We embraced and I pulled back to touch my hair, woven back into a bun I usually only wore on special occasions. "Thank you," I grinned.

My smile faltered a little when I saw my father's unhappy frown over my sister's shoulder. But just as quickly he looked calm and pleasantly serene, and I was sure I had imagined it.

"Mama. Papa." I curtsied. "May I present my . . . Um . . . My . . ." My mouth suddenly went dry. "This is Kristoff," I said finally. Kristoff looked a little green as he bowed low, and I couldn't blame him.

"Your highnesses." Mama and Papa nodded politely.

"Well," Elsa said, clapping her hands together after an awkward moment. "Anyone for a game of chess?"

"Stop staring," Kristoff muttered to me without looking up from the cards in his hand.

"I'm not," I said, not as quietly, back. Kristoff shot me a skeptical look as he placed down a card on top of my mother's. Elsa and Papa were playing chess silently in the corner, and despite the card game Mama, Kristoff, and I are playing, I couldn't concentrate.

"They're fine, Anna."

"But, they're just so . . . quiet."

"They've always played that way," Mama whispered. Kristoff and I both jumped. "You have to concentrate for chess."

"They've played before?" I asked at normal volume.

"When she got older," my mother whispered, "She used the gloves then." She looked up and frowned when she saw my expression. "We tried to give Elsa as normal a childhood as possible. . ." She trailed off.

Kristoff smiled politely, but I could tell even he was uncomfortable.

"Are you happy to be back at the castle, your highness?" Kristoff interrupted my thoughts.

"Very much. I'm happy to be home." Mama placed another card on the pile. "Do you live in town, Kristoff?"

"Uh, just outside actually. Your highness."

Only a kind-of-lie, but I bit my lip all the same. Elsa had offered Kristoff a room in the castle, and even though he spent a few days every once in a while with his family, when he wasn't ice harvesting, Kristoff stayed at the castle. But it was a new arrangement, just since the engagement, and I didn't correct him.

"Oh. Do you have any siblings?"

"No, I don't."

"And your father? What does he do?"

"He and my mom died when I was little." Kristoff placed another card on the pile.

"Oh. I'm so sorry. How terrible that must have been for you." Mama touched Kristoff's hand gently.

Kristoff held it there, and I felt a swell at pride. A year ago he would have flinched. But he really had gotten used to being around people. Well, me and Elsa, at least.

"Thank you," Kristoff answered. "I was lucky. My adopted family has been good to me."

Mama smiled, and took back her hand to place another card. It was quiet for a moment, my turn as I deliberated, looking carefully at my hand of cards.

"And has the castle, um changed a lot, since you've, uh last been here your majesty?" I tried to hide my smile behind my cards at the awkwardness, but I knew Kristoff saw when his neck turned red.

"There are a few things that are different, but it's mostly the same. Anna dear, your turn."

"Elsa has only let me decorate a few things so far," I grinned and placed my card down.

"I thought I spotted your handy work," Mama smiled. "Your paintings of Joan of Arc are much improved."

Kristoff guffawed. "Anna did one of me once. Looked more like Sven. My reindeer." He added when my mother looked confused.

Elsa and I burst into laughter. I didn't even try to defend myself, because the painting did have a slight resemblance to Sven. And worst still, when I had tried to defend myself by saying that I saw Sven and Kristoff together so much that they kind of blended together, well, Elsa had laughed so hard she had cried. Probably more at Kristoff's expression that anything.

"I kept it though," Kristoff told my mother, probably to assure her grimace. "She didn't mean for it to look that way."

"She?" Mama asked, trying to fake a light tone.

"I mean Anna-her highn-majesty-princess. The princess. Princess Anna."

"Mama, its fine. I don't mind."

She smiled coolly at Kristoff. "Not really, but I understand." She placed another card on the pile, and turned to look at Papa.

Elsa didn't catch the look, focused on her next move, but she caught the tone of the next question.

"And what do you do, Christian?" Papa asked, joining our conversation.

Elsa immediately looked over at us, I shot concerned eyes at her, and the room figuratively felt a few degrees cooler.

"Um. It's actually, Kristoff. But I uh, am the royal ice harvester and deliverer, your highness," Kristoff smiled sheepishly. Of course, he was the only person in the room oblivious to the tension. Even Kai against the wall had stiffened.

"I never heard of that," Papa laughed, too quickly, too politely to be warm.

"Well, um," Kristoff's smile faded a little. "Anna kind of made it up. But I uh, do get ice for the palace. So it's mostly real, just the title is made up. Your, uh highness."

"Tea?" Kai asked.

My father bobbed his hand the same time Elsa said, "Thank you, Kai."

I wondered if I was the only one who noticed it was about an hour early for teatime.

"Do you enjoy ice harvesting, Christian?"

"Kristoff. And yes, I do. Your highness." Kristoff smiled stiffly as Kai passed him a steaming cup.

"Kristoff is excellent. The best ice harvester I've ever seen," Elsa said lightly, to break the tension. Her cup of tea was the only one without steam trailing from it.

"I can't imagine you've seen many ice harvesters, dear," Mama chuckled.

Elsa breathed softly. "Not before, Mama. But now I oversee some of their work. It's interesting to learn, and I'm trying to make it safer for them. The mountains can be treacherous."

Luckily, neither Mama nor Papa questioned how Elsa knew that. First hand, in fact.

Instead, Papa went back to the earlier line of questioning. "So, _Kristoff, _I don't suppose we would know your family?" Papa continued.

"You know, I think you've actually met them once," Kristoff said, his jaw tight. My breath caught in my throat. A long, long time ago, the night that Elsa almost-

"Oh my goodness. Kai, I'm so sorry," Elsa blurted out, as a loud crack went through the room. Glass splinters flung throughout the room as Elsa's frozen tea cup and tea exploded.

Both Mama and Papa looked at Kristoff, who had shot up his hand protectively in front of me, and then at Elsa, flustered and embarrassed, to Kai, who was calmly and patiently assuring Elsa and picking up pieces from the floor. And I saw them put it together. This wasn't Kai's first time picking up the pieces of a frozen teacup. This wasn't Elsa's first time freezing something. And this wasn't the first time Kristoff had to react to magical ice. My sister's ice.

"Its fine, your highness," Kai murmured to Elsa, as she picked up pieces of frozen glass from the floor. "Please, let me."

"I should've been more careful, Kai. I'm sorry." Elsa stood and wrung her hands.

"I assumed it was all under control. Since you don't wear the gloves anymore," Papa said quietly, staring at Elsa's hands.

"It usually is," Elsa said quietly, inspecting me for any damage. I gave her a reassuring smile, and pulled Kristoff's hand down. Her shoulder's relaxed slightly.

Kristoff bent to help Kai get some of the pieces of the floor near us.

"I'm not so sure. Maybe you should. . . "

"Cool off?" Mama offered, her eyes on Elsa's hands too.

"Yes, cool off, in your room?" Papa suggested.

"That's really not necessary," Elsa said, sliding her hands behind her. The corners of her mouth went up briefly as Kristoff plunked the pieces of cup he had scooped in his shirt on Kai's tray. Mama and Papa flinched at the sound. "It's not like it was before. I am much better at controlling it."

"You know-"I said with narrowed eyes, ready to defend Elsa. But Kristoff, back at my side, stomped on my foot.

"Hey-" I protested. But he glanced up at me meaningfully, and then over at Elsa, turning paler by the second.

_You don't even know what I'm going to say, _I protested silently with my eyes.

_Sure I don't, _he told me back.

_They're not being fair. She can't explain when she's all stressed like this. _

_You fighting with them won't help anything. _

_But they have no idea! And it's a sister thing. I'll just start the conversation. She can do the rest. _

_Anna this is _so_ not your place. _

"Anna!" Kristoff jumped in before I could glare at him again. "Why don't we go down and feed Sven? I know he's missed you. He couldn't stop whining about you the whole trip." For some odd reason, Kristoff's cheeks turned bright red. He tugged the back of his collar and raised his eyebrows. "Let's go, huh?"

"Elsa?" I said, jumping up too. "You want to join us? You haven't even seen Sven yet since he's gotten back."

Elsa kind of tolerates Sven, but she jumped at the opportunity. "I'd love to. Please, excuse us," she said stiffly to Mama and Papa.

The three of us shuffled out of the room quickly before anyone could say anything. But we didn't breathe a collective sigh of relief until the stables were in sight.

"Oh, my goodness. . . " Elsa gasped. "This is a disaster."

"No, it's not."

"Anna," Elsa shook her head. "They know. And if they don't know, they've definitely guessed now. About all of it."

"We just need to explain it to them!" I took a deep breath. "They just need to understand, Elsa."

"Anna, I. . . I'm not sure this can be fixed."

"Sure it can! Elsa you need to tell them about your powers! Everything! Once they understand that love is the answer they'll get it. You haven't even done that tea thing in forever. They weren't being fair in there, they didn't give you or Kristoff a chance. So of course you froze the cup. And once you tell the story, I can tell them about Kristoff!" I take a deep breath and turn to look at Kristoff for support, but he's got his head down. "Am I rambling? I know I'm rambling. But I'm not nervous, I'm just anxious to tell them. Because then it'll all be fine when we do. But Elsa, you have to tell them soon."

"Anna! Did you hear Papa in there?" Elsa's hands were so tightly bound in fists her fingers were white.

"I'm going to get Sven some carrots," Kristoff muttered, quickly escaping behind the stables when we reached it.

"I heard him," I answer Elsa. "But this is their second day back in Arendelle. Everything is new, of course they're going to overreact. . ." Tears sprung to the back of my eyes.

Elsa just shook her head. "Anna, the way Papa talked to Kristoff. . . They might not know you two are engaged, but they know there's something. And they obviously don't approve."

"They just need to get to know them," I protested. "Like I did."

"Anna! Not everyone is as open-minded as you. And Kristoff should never have to explain or apologize for who he is to anyone. Even Papa."

"Well, neither should you," Kristoff said gruffly, entering with a bunch full of carrots. He tossed them to Sven and looked straight at Elsa. "You shouldn't have to apologize for who you are, Elsa."

"It's different for me."

I opened my mouth immediately but Kristoff beat me to it.

"No. It's not, Elsa. You are who you are. Ice powers and all. They shouldn't love you despite it, they should love it because it's part of you."

"How can you say that?" Elsa hissed as icy tears crept down her face. I jumped at the turn this conversation had taken. "Knowing what you know? Seeing what I did to Anna?"

"You know, I'm right h-"

"Because I saw what you did to Anna," Kristoff grabbed Elsa's arm. "I saw your bring her back to life when her frozen heart stopped beating. I know what you can do." He looked at his tight fist around her bare arm. "I'm not afraid of you Elsa."

"Neither am I," I piped up, grabbing her other arm.

"They're afraid of me," Elsa whispered, looking down at the ground. "They've always been afraid of me."

Kristoff grabbed her chin and forced him to look at him. "So show them why they don't have to be. They never understood your powers Elsa. People fear what they don't understand."

"But what if-"

"Elsa!" I wrapped both my arms her, Kristoff's hand and all. "They're our parents. They love us. They'll always love us. They just need time to understand."

"Yes, they do. You're their daughter, Elsa. Everything will be fine." Kristoff agreed. And I felt Elsa's heart rate calm down; her body grew warmer in my arms. I grabbed Kristoff closer, and we stood in this weird, but not uncomfortable, group-hug. Even Sven, missing out on the love, bopped his head out and placed it on Kristoff's shoulder.

"When did you get so wise?" I accused Kristoff behind Elsa's head.

He rolled his eyes at me. "I was raised by love experts. I keep trying to tell you, I know a lot."

I stuck out my tongue at him, trying to keep with the joking tone, but there's something not quite right. His eyes looked sad.

Eventually, we pull apart. Elsa wiped her eyes and looked at Kristoff and me gratefully. "Thank you, both. And you too, Sven." Elsa quickly rapped his nose with an only mildly disgusted expression.

"We should go back," I said.

"You're right. We should go back and explain everything. Better or worse, at least they'll know and then they can make a decision about it. And I can stop feeling like we're hiding it."

"Exactly."

"Maybe, uh, I should get lost."

Both Elsa and I whip around to look at Kristoff.

"Um, what?" It came out slightly like a shriek, but I couldn't help it, especially since Kristoff was looking at Elsa.

"It'll probably be easier, for you guys to explain, if I'm not around. One battle at a time, you know?"

"Kristoff, of course not," I turned to Elsa, expecting her to agree. But despite her frown, I could tell Elsa was considering what he was saying.

"Keep it within the family, you know." Kristoff's eyes still wouldn't meet mine.

I remembered his words minutes earlier, _You're their _daughter_, Elsa. Everything will be fine. _"Kristoff. _Kristoff_." I stretched on my toes and grabbed his shoulders to force him to look at me. "You're going to be their son soon. You will be their family. You are part of this."

Something clenched in Kristoff's jaw and he looked back at Elsa again, his brow hard over his eyes. "I don't want to make this harder. I'll go stay with Ma and Grandpapi for a while."

"No Kristoff. No." I shook my head even if he wouldn't see it. "You're not going anywhere. Right, Elsa?"

Elsa kept staring at Kristoff. Finally, she sighed, and looked at me. "It's probably better if he does go, Anna. Just for a little while."

I felt like the wind had been taken out of me. "He just got back! Kristoff, no." He moved out of my grasp, and started to get the harness on Sven, his back to me.

"That's not fair," I couldn't get my voice above a whisper. "You just said – Kristoff please don't go. Stay. Elsa!" My voice was getting shrieky. "Tell him to stay."

Elsa bit her shaking lip, and turned away from. "It's just for a little while, Anna."

Kristoff up on Sven, fixing the pack at his side, still not looking at me. "I hate when you go up in the mountains," I said desperately, feeling shaky. I stood in front of Sven. "Please, stay, Kristoff. For me. For _us_."

"Anna, it's just until everything is figured out."

"But it won't be figured out if you're not here."

"Anna, let me go." He face was still down, covered in shadow.

"At least say good-bye," I finally said, stepping aside from Sven, using my last ploy. "Come down and say good-bye."

"Anna," Kristoff started, but didn't say anything more.

"Let him go, Anna." Elsa whispered from the doorway. She opened the door for him.

"No! He's at least got to say good-bye. Kristoff, please."

"Anna!" Kristoff almost yelled. And Kristoff never yells. "If I get down and say good-bye to you, I' won't be able to get back up to leave."

"Kristoff," I whispered, trying to see his face.

"I've got go," he said, turning away from me. "It's a family thing, I get it. I'll be back soon."

And then he and Sven were out the stable door. Elsa looked at me pitifully, and I just stood there, hand outreached at nothing.

"He told you it wasn't different for you. You should have told him the same thing. He shouldn't have to leave because Papa might not approve of him!" I said shakily to Elsa, turning away so she doesn't see my tears.

"He's trying to make it easier, Anna," Elsa said softly. "We'll be able to explain everything easier now. And then Mama and Papa will be more accepting to let him join the family. It's like a chess game," she told me earnestly. "We just have to move the right pieces at the right time."

I walked past her to the door of the stable and watched Kristoff and Sven's retreating backs. "Kristoff is already a part of my family," I whispered.


End file.
